Family of LoveDale Johnson (G71) and his wife have adopted 10 very special
children.

Dale Johnson with six of his adopted children

Those who think theyre having trouble making ends meet should consider
Dale Johnson (G71) and his family. Their grocery bills run between $300
and $400 a week. A box or two of cereal is consumed every morning. And
the family travels in a 15-seat vehicle that Johnson whimsically calls
"the church van."

At various times over the last two decades, he and his wife, Winni,
have taken in more than 50 special-needs foster children and permanently
adopted 10 of them, now aged 6 to 16. "Most of these kids were older
and considered unadoptable," Dale says.

Except for Erica  the Johnsons oldest and only birth
child, who recently completed a year as a VISTA volunteer  the 13
family members, including Dales mother, currently live in a rambling,
75-year-old house in Cincinnatis North Avondale neighborhood.

Nothing has come easily, but no one hears a word of complaint from
the Johnson household. All of the adopted children  five of whom
are African American, one Latino and the rest Caucasian  are learning
disabled, and many have behavior problems like attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder. Several had physical disabilities, such as cleft lip and palette
and other facial deformities, and many were victims of appalling parental
abuse. Most were born to mothers who used drugs or alcohol during their
pregnancies. "We dont adopt healthy, blond, blue-eyed infants,"
Winni says.

The Johnsons find that the children with fetal alcohol syndrome are
often worse off than those with drugs in their systems as infants. "In
our family, fetal alcohol syndrome has exacted a terrible toll,"
Winni says, referring to many of their childrens mental, physical
and emotional problems.

Although 10-year-old Matthew was accepted last year into a performing
arts program, the academic successes are few and far between. "We
know that theyre going to plateau out at some point,"
Dale says. "We try not to impose unrealistic expectations on them."

When Dale was getting his doctorate in chemistry at Northwestern,
he was "a quiet, conservative type," says his former adviser,
Joseph Lambert, Clare Hamilton Hall Professor of Chemistry. "He wasnt
out there on the barricades, wearing beads and a beard," Lambert
says. "He was in the lab doing his work. I would never have predicted
that he would go in this direction."

To a great extent it was Dales training in physical organic
chemistry at Northwestern that allowed him and Winni to have such a large
family. A specialist in the product development process, Dale was a key
member of teams that introduced such successful personal grooming products
as Helene Curtis Finesse Conditioner. Regarding the Johnsons
expenses, aside from some state support for medical costs for some of
the children, "this all comes out of our pocket," he says.

When the troops sally forth on their many outings to the zoo, the
aquarium or childrens concerts, observers often ask if theyre
a family or a group on a field trip. On those occasions everyone in the
family is dressed identically and firmly instructed to be on their best
behavior.

In general Dale and Winni rely on old-fashioned values for discipline
and encounter relatively few problems with their children. "We have
zero tolerance for lying," she says, while he adds, "We try
to be consistent. You sometimes have to keep saying the same thing over
and over until they get it."

A fairly typical family, in their opinion. "Its a manageable
thing," Dale says. "Theres nothing I would change."